What to Know About the Newest, Most Contagious Omicron Subvariants

It only took about a month for BA.2.12.1, an Omicron subvariant, to cause most of the new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. since scientists first spotted it in the country. But even newer iterations of the Omicron variant are spreading rapidly through the U.S. and are poised to outcompete past versions of the virus, reinfect millions of Americans, and extend the country’s current COVID-19 surge. BA.4 and BA.5 now account for more than 21% of new cases in the U.S., according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates as of June 11. These two new subvariants evolved from the Omicron lineage to become even more contagious and can bypass immunity from a past infection or vaccination, experts say. This means people can be reinfected even if they had Omicron earlier this year. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Here’s what to know about the latest Omicron subvariants. They’re built to escape immunity Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 were first identified in South Africa in January and February 2022, respectively. BA.2.12.1, meanwhile, evolved out of BA.2 in the U.S., and scientists at the New York state health department identified the first cases caused by it in the country in April. All three subvariants have a similar mutation that distinguishes them from older versions of Omicron, says Marc Johnson, a microbiology and immunology professor at the University of Missouri who leads the state’s wastewater surveillance program. “There&rs...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Explainer freelance healthscienceclimate Source Type: news